Never Be Mine
by I-make-you-LOL
Summary: "And as her lips crushed his, I knew she'd never be mine."  Jesse is back at McKinley High and with Rachel and Finn in love he accepts that him and Rachel will never get back together. But does that mean he can never love again?  Season 2 from Jesse's POV
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Don't ask me why - because I don't know myself - but I love St. Fabray fan-fics! I actually think they make a better couple than Jesse and Rachel.  
So I decided that I'd write one of my own.**

**Inspired by 'Heart Like Memphis' 's story 'Over Me Now'; this is Season 2 from Jesse's P.O.V**

**Please R&R! I accept anon.**

**DISCLAIMER : Sadly, I do not own Glee. If I did Jesse would not have been such a meanie to Rachel. =)**

* * *

I tightened my grip on the door handle and swung the door open, peering inside for any sign that Shelby was home.

"Shelby?" I called, anxiously.

I heard a rustling down the hall and the sound of Beth's crying, "Hold on Jesse, I'll be right there!"

"Do you need any help?" I asked, awkwardly, as I took a few cautious steps into the house.

"That'd be great," Shelby sighed, stepping into my line of vision. She shoved Beth into my arms and gave me a grateful smile, "Thanks for coming. Do you think you could calm her down while I go get a bottle?"

I nodded and shushed Beth, bouncing her up and down in my arms as I tried to calm her down.

When that didn't work I sang the song _Beth_ to her softly.

_Beth, I hear you calling_

_But I can't come home right now_

_Me and the boys are playing_

_And we just can't find a sound_

Almost immediately she calmed down and snuggled her head into my shoulder. I felt a small smile creep across my face.

"Thanks Jesse. I can take her now."

Shelby took Beth out of my arms and began to feed her, "Come on. Have a seat."

We walked into the living room and I took a seat on the sofa whilst Shelby sat in the chair beside me.

"Could you do me a favour?"

I shrugged, "You never used to ask."

"Well," she began, uncomfortably, "This is a bit selfish of me. I can't believe I'm even asking this of you…"

"You're my favourite teacher Ms Corcoran. You helped me earn a scholarship! Whatever you want, I'll do," I promised.

"I'd like you to go back to McKinley High and co-direct New Directions."

"Except that."

I watched her face fall and felt a twinge of guilt, "I'm sorry. But I can't stand to go back there! After what I did…"

I shuddered as the memories came flooding back; the faces of the New Direction members when they saw me onstage with Vocal Adrenaline, the looks of hatred I received when they were doing their Funk number and – even worse than those two combined – the look of happiness on Rachel's face as she ran towards me, thinking I had come back for her, only for her hopes to be shattered as I smashed an egg on the vegan's forehead.

"…I'm really sorry. I can't do it."

"I understand," Shelby frowned, "I knew it was too much to ask of you. I just…"

"You miss Rachel," I finished for her, "And you want me to make sure she's alright."

_You're not the only one_.

"You know me too well Jesse St. James," she smiled, as she stroked Beth's tiny wisps of blonde hair.

Surely, it wouldn't be _that_ bad returning to New Directions, right? I mean, it's not like I'd be an actual part of it. Besides, how long can they hold a grudge for?

"I'll consider it," I began, watching Shelby's face light up, "But what about my scholarship?"

"I could talk to the university, I could tell them that you're going to be involved in some work experience with a high school glee club and that you'd be thrilled if you could take the scholarship for the following year," she reasoned.

"Can you guarantee that that will work?" I asked.

She pondered this for a moment, "If I can make it work, will you go look after Rachel?"

"Yes."

"Thank you so much, Jesse."

I forced a smile to hide my uncertainty, "You're welcome."

"Would you like a drink?" Shelby offered.

I was feeling very thirsty but I didn't feel like staying here any longer, "No, thank you. I'll see you around."

I kissed Beth goodbye on the forehead and walked out of the house with a million thoughts whirring through my head.

How did I know that I wouldn't break down when I saw Rachel and Finn all over each other? Or when I saw Quinn upset over the loss of her baby?

I guess this was just a risk I would have to take.

I slipped into the front seat of my car and turned the radio on full blast, trying to lose myself in the music.

I slammed my foot on the accelerator as I zoomed down the road to the nearest McDonalds, where I could drown myself in cholesterol and forget about what I had just agreed to do.

I bobbed my head along to the song that was blasting in my ears and before I knew it, I was singing along.

_Let me introduce to you what you've been missing_

_Just dance and work it, I'm on a brand new mission_

_All the kids in the club are hungry for what I'm dishing_

_This beat's got heat and so tonight I'm wishing_

_To get to the floor, so I can get me some more_

_I wanna put out a toast, to those who freak me the most_

_I got a feeling and I just can't let it go_

_Now I can't stop it baby, let's get physical_

_Just wanna get up in a good vibration_

_Now I can feel it in the air_

_It's gonna be a hot summer_

_A hot, hot summer_

_Hot summer, a hot, hot_

_Gonna be a hot summer_

_A hot, hot, summer_

_Hot summer_

_A hot, hot_

_Gonna be a…_

I swerved the car around a corner and parked the car in front of McDonalds, still thinking about what Ms Corcoran had asked of me. I still wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull it off, but I'd decided that – for Shelby – I'd give it a go.

I pulled out the key and tucked it in my pocket before slamming the door shut and walking to the entrance.

As my fingers curled around the cold, metal door handle I felt my heart leap into my throat and my heart beat increase dramatically…

Because, sitting right by the door with her perfectly manicured fingers gripping a Quarter Pounder was New Direction's very own –

Quinn Fabray.

* * *

**So, what did you think?**

**Love it, Hate it? (Hopefully not hate it)**

**Please review, I don't mind constructive critisism but I do not like it when people are just out-right mean. So if you've got something to say, please be polite. =D**

**SONGS : Beth; By Kiss and sung by Puck in Glee.  
Hot Summer; By Rhys**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone =)**

**Thanks a bunch for reviewing the last chapter. =)**

**Well, I've decided I'm just gonna tell the story rather than make each chapter an episode. I'm part-way through the next chapter so I'll - hopefully - get that up soon.**

**Please R&R and tell me what you thought. =) I accept anon!**

**Do I have to say the disclaimer in every chapter? I think we've all gathered that I don't own Glee. =)**

* * *

I considered turning around and taking the coward's way out – something that had become second-nature to me – but it was too late.

She had seen me.

I held my head up high and swung the door open, trying to make a dramatic entrance like I used to... I just wasn't feelin' it.

But there was no way I was letting her know that.

I walked up to the counter and ordered a Diet Coke without looking at Quinn once, flicking my hair out of my face every now and then, to give off the "egotistical jerk" vibe she was used to.

Once I had been given my drink I plucked up the courage to sneak a look at her… and regretted it.

Her hazel eyes were filled with hatred and were piercing my skin like a knife. I hated how she could do that to me!

I walked over to her table, trying not to cower under her gaze, and took a seat beside her.

"Quinn," I smirked at her, taking a sip of my Coke, "Fancy seeing you here."

"I'm gonna give you ten seconds to get the hell away from me…"

"Quinn, let me…"

"One, Two."

"Please, just let me explain…"

"Three, Four."

I groaned in frustration and balled my hands into fists. _I will not yell at her, I will not yell at her_, I coaxed myself.

"Five, Six."

"Can you please stop that and let me talk to you?" I demanded, banging my fist into the table.

She jumped at my outburst and her pink lips opened into a perfect 'o'.

I sighed and slid back into the chair, "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you. And I'm sorry for betraying your trust last year," I apologized.

"Wow, you're sorry? That makes everything better now, doesn't it? Let's be best friends and burst into song and skip around like we're on High School Musical," she sneered, sarcastically, "_Sorry_ doesn't change what you did, Jesse! I trusted you… we _all_ trusted you! And you let us down – Rachel, especially."

Hearing Rachel's name was like a punch in the stomach, but there was no way I was going to let my guard down around Quinn, "I thought you and Rachel were enemies, why would you give a shit about her?"

"She's not my friend – no – but that doesn't mean I don't care about her! She was crushed when you left! And you _knew_ she was a vegan! She had nightmares about baby chickens attacking her for weeks!"

_Weeks_?

"Well, I guess I can apologize in person next year."

Quinn frowned, "What?"

"I'm applying to be a co-director of New Directions."

She buried her face in her hands and shook her head from side-to-side, "No! No, no, no, no."

"Good to know you missed me," I muttered, sarcastically.

"You can't come back! Everyone just got back on their feet. If you come you'll ruin everything!"

"I think you're exaggerating a bit…"

"No! I'm not Jesse! _Everybody_ hates you! I thought I could trust you after you convinced me to pour my heart out to you… but you probably went and told my secrets to everyone in Vocal Adrenaline! I can't believe you'd use me like that!"

I flinched, "I would never tell your secrets. When you confided in me, I promised that I would take those secrets to the grave!"

"Yeah? Well, you promised you wouldn't return to Vocal Adrenaline!" she shot back, hastily wiping a tear from her eye.

"Technically, I didn't promise."

"Whatever!" she snapped, "I'm out of here!"

She stood up, angrily, and shoved her chair in. With one last death-stare and flick of her hair, Quinn Fabray stormed out of the restaurant and disappeared from sight.

* * *

I weaved my way through the crowd of students, occasionally getting bumped on the shoulder or tripped up by some loser.

This was definitely different to my life at Carmel, where people used to part the halls as I walked. This would surely take some getting used to.

"Ow!" I snapped at one kid, who had hit me in the arm with his microphone, "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," he murmured, hanging his fluffy head down, "Hang on a minute… You're Jesse St. James!"

"Yeah…" I began, uncertainly, "And you are?"

"I'm Jacob," He spun around to the guy behind him and smiled, "Turn on your camera!"

"Wait… what?" I stammered.

"Up here, come on, focus!" He said to the camera-guy who had the camera focused on a Cheerio's ass.

"What are you doing?"

Jacob shushed me and then grinned widely at the camera, "Hi, I'm Jacob Ben Israel with Glee's 'Big Gay Summer' with all the Glee club dish you're dying to know!"

"What's going on Jacob?" I asked, cautiously.

"Man, Point the camera over here!" Jacob demanded, "Okay, Jesse St. James, what do you have to say about posts on my blog that say you're an egotistical, selfish jerk who only cares about winning Glee National Titles?"

I was lost for words, "I-I disagree…"

"But you transferred to McKinley, stole Rachel Berry from me and then went back to Carmel a month before Regionals. What are we supposed to think?"

_What was this guy on about? How did I steal Rachel…?_

I frowned and shoved my hand over the camera lens, "No comment!"

"Come on," Jacob said to the camera guy, "Let's go over there and talk to Finn and Rachel."

Finn _and _Rachel. Hearing their names together would take some getting used to.

Sure enough, when I spun around, I saw Rachel buttoning up Finn's shirt.

And she looked just as beautiful as she had the first day I saw her at the library… If not more.

Jacob walked up to towards them and I stood against the lockers, trying to get a good view of the action without them catching me. That would definitely cause a scene.

"Rachel," Jacob said, causing Rachel to turn from what she was doing and glance at the camera, "How do you respond to rumours that you're incredibly difficult to work with?"

She smiled at the camera and tucked her hair behind her ears, ready to answer when Finn responded for her, "Well as her boyfriend I can say that…"

"We've been dating _all_ summer," Rachel piped in, smiling right at the camera.

"Rachel's what you'd call a controllist…" Finn continued, only to be interrupted again.

"I'm controlling," she said, glancing up at Finn, "Controllist's not a word. I'm controlling. Performing is my life. And yes, do I have opinions about it? Does my need to constantly express those opinions annoy my fellow glee clubbers…?"

"Yes," Finn answered, as Rachel's face fell slightly, "Th-that was out loud, wasn't it?"

Jacob must've decided that that was his cue to leave because he quickly raced down the hall to interview more people.

"Do I annoy you?" Rachel asked sadly, looking up at Finn with puppy-dog eyes.

"Sometimes…" Finn answered, honestly, wrapping his arms around her waist, "But I love you anyway."

And as much as I try to kid myself, when his lips crushed hers, I knew she'd never be mine.

I turned my back on them and walked off down the hall, refusing to admit to myself that I was jealous of Finn Hudson.

"How has life changed since the birth of your bastard child?"

That had to be Jacob again and there was no doubt about it that he was all over Quinn, now.

Yep, there she was, dressed in a beautiful, white dress, putting books in her locker. Beside her were Santana and Brittany in their Cheerio uniforms.

"Well," she began awkwardly, "I'm happy to be back and I'm ready to start fresh…"

I watched the camera creep down and zoom in over Santana's breasts and couldn't believe that some of these guys would stoop so low! By the look on Quinn's face she was thinking the same thing.

"And," she continued, grabbing the camera and putting it back on her, "I'm a lot less hormonal so there's not really any crying…"

"How was _your_ summer?" Jacob asked Santana, pointing the microphone at her breasts.

Santana smiled, "My eyes are up here, Jew Fro. And it was uneventful."

I snickered at the 'Jew Fro' comment as Jacob did have an afro that would've fit into the 1970s… but not here.

Brittany leant in front of Santana and began to speak into the microphone with a smile on her face, "People thought I went on vacation but I actually spent the summer lost in the sewers."

I shook my head; I'd never met anyone quite like Brittany…

I was going to continue walking down the halls when Jacob made a completely inappropriate comment.

"So Quinn, what _did_ you do with all that breast milk?"

Quinn blushed and opened her mouth to answer when – before I could stop myself – I stormed up to Jacob and grabbed him by the shoulders, "You're done here! Go torment someone else!"

Jacob cowered and scurried away, over to annoy Kurt.

"Jesse?" Santana asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm the new co-director of Glee club," I said with a smirk.

"Hell no!"

"So, you're summer was uneventful, huh?" I asked, making sure that my eyes didn't drift down to where Jacob's had been only moments before.

"_That_ is none of your business!"

"No, it isn't my business what you do to your body. But don't Cheerios have a no-plastic policy?"

"I…"

"Come on, Santana. Let's go," Brittany said, linking her pinkie with Santana's and fixing me with a death-stare as they strutted down the hall.

"You have no right to talk to Santana like that!" Quinn snapped at me.

"You're welcome for saving you from that Jacob kid," I said, ignoring her chastising.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome."

She looked me over, as if trying to determine whether I could be trusted or not.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" she asked, impatiently.

"Actually, no. I can walk you to class," I teased.

She ignored my teasing and smiled,"Shouldn't you be pestering _Rachel_?"

My thoughts drifted to Rachel and Finn together, with their arms around one another and their mouths closing in on each other…

"No. I'd much rather pester you."

Quinn smiled, "I'll see you at Glee club."

* * *

**Was it okay?**

**Please tell me in a review.**

**Once again I don't mind CONSTRUCTIVE critisism but please don't be outright mean. =) It really lowers my self esteem.**

**Thanks.**

**PS: If you don't like it then you don't have to READ it do you?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry, I didn't update sooner. I have been really hard at work on a play 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' with my drama group. :) We performed it a couple of days ago and it was awesome!**

**But anyway...**

* * *

"Hi Jesse, take a seat," Mr Schuester said coldly – gesturing to where Tina and Mike were sitting, arm in arm – when I walked into the McKinley High choir room.

"No, I'm fine back here," I smirked at Mr Schue, resting against the piano, "By the way, Tina, what happened with you and Artie?"

She blushed and leant into Mike's chest, "That is _none_ of your business"

Wow, that was the phrase of the day.

Slowly, more Glee club members entered the room and took a seat, jabbering about who-knows-what when one voice yelled out over the top.

"What is he doing here?"

No, _that_ was the phrase of the day.

Everyone glanced up and looked at the door where Rachel was standing, wide-eyed, with her arm around Finn.

"Hi Rachel, have the baby chickens attacked you yet?" I asked – instantly regretting it after seeing the frightened look on her face.

Finn's eyes narrowed and before I knew it he was on top of me, desperately trying to get a punch in.

"Don't. Talk. To. Her. Like. That," He yelled, in between swings.

"Finn! Finn, stop!" Mr Schue yelled.

"Listen to him, Hudson," I spat, rolling over to dodge a punch, "Or I might actually start fighting back."

"Finn!" Rachel, cried, hysterically, "Just stop, he's not worth it!"

I bit on my lip to stop myself from breaking down… _He's not worth it_… That just made me want to punch Finn even more!

Sick of being on the defensive I curled my hand into a fist – preparing for a punch – when Finn looked up at Rachel's terrified face and backed away from me. He edged over to where Rachel was standing and whispered something into her hair then kissing the tears off her cheeks. Rachel nodded and kissed him gently, before leading him over to a seat.

"Well," Mr Schue said, anxiously, "As you have all probably figured out, Jesse St. James is here."

"We gathered that Mr Schue," Mercedes called out, "And we wanna know why."

"He's probably here to spy again. And then sabotage us!" Puck yelled, slamming his fist into his thigh, aggressively, "What were you thinking Mr Schue?"

"I don't think he's here to spy…" Quinn said quietly, giving me a small smile, "He said he was here for work experience."

"He _said_. He also said that he moved here last time because he loved Rachel and cared more about her than winning another National Title!" Puck argued, "I can't believe you're standing up for him!"

I couldn't believe that he could remember what I'd said last year, word-for-word.

"Guys!" Mr Schue said, trying to calm them down, "As much of a nuisance as this is, Figgins has accepted him and there's nothing we can do about it. Now can we get on with our practise?"

No one answered but Mr Schue ignored that and began to read out some posts from Jacob Ben Israel's blog.

"Glee is a giant ball of suck…"

"Yes we get it, Mr Schue, everybody still hates us. So what? So we're _plankton_ on the high school food chain. The only difference now is, none of us really care," Kurt said.

"Yeah. We're a family," Mercedes agreed, "They can bring it all they want, none of it's gonna break us."

_A family?_ What a laughable concept…

"Well, I'm really happy that you guys have all _bonded_, but the problem is that all this negative stuff is stopping _other_ kids from auditioning."

"Good, why do we need new members?" Tina shrugged.

"Well since Matt transferred we only have eleven members."

That was my cue to look around the room and notice that the shy footballer – whom I hadn't gotten to know very well – was indeed missing from the group.

"And if we want to go to Nationals… If we want to _beat_ Vocal Adrenaline," he glanced at me when he said that, "Then we have to go from a small rebel force to a giant wall of sound!"

Rachel stood up from her seat and walked over to stand besides Mr Schue, blocking my view, "Yeah, Mr Schuester's right, you guys. You didn't see Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals they were epic," she said, throwing a pissed-off glance at me whilst smoothing out her plaid skirt, "We're gonna need more voices in order to beat them."

Finn looked around the room, letting his gaze linger on me for a moment before standing up and wrapping his arm around Rachel, "Yeah, I'm with Rachel on this one."

"Gross," Brittany murmured.

_I agree, Brittany_.

"You're gonna have to trust me on this guys," Mr Schue said, with his arms folded.

I rolled my eyes.

"Now, here's the plan. Nationals are in New York this year… and we are _going_!"

Everyone exchanged excited looks and Mercedes fanned Kurt with her hand.

"Now let's go out there and show the school how cool it's gonna be. How cool we can be. If they're not gonna come to us let's go to them! They say we only sing Show tunes and 80s Pop, let's _show them_ how down we are! Let's give them the song of the year... New Directions style," Mr Schuester smiled, posing like a rapper.

Finn grinned at him and mimicked his pose while the rest of the Glee club cheered and suggested songs and artists.

"What about Bad Romance? I think we did a good job of that last year," Quinn suggested.

Puck shook his head, "Now way am I singing Gaga!"

"Britney Spears!" Kurt piped in.

"Magic by B.o.B?"

"Misery by Maroon 5?"

I stepped out from behind Rachel and looked the Glee kids over, "What about Empire State of Mind?"

Everyone looked in my direction – they must've, somehow, forgotten I was there – but this time they were smiling.

"Yeah Jesse!" Quinn smiled, "That's an awesome idea!"

"Empire State of Mind it is then," Mr Schue said, "Now let's rehearse."

Well, singing Empire State of Mind didn't increase New Direction's popularity one bit. And although I'd never admit it to them, I was kind of sad for them. I think it actually _decreased_ their popularity.

And they were all so pissed off that they decided to take their anger out on me.

"It's all his fault!" Santana snapped, "Him and his stupid song selection!"

Mr Schue hadn't entered the choir room yet so I was stuck with eleven annoyed glee-clubbers.

"We all agreed on that song," Quinn argued, "It wasn't his fault."

Hmm… Make that ten annoyed glee-clubbers.

I smiled gratefully at Quinn but she turned away from me. I guess there were eleven annoyed glee-clubbers after all.

"I don't care what you say Quinn," Mercedes interjected, "The only reason he came back was to sabotage us."

I scowled, "By the looks of things you don't need me to sabotage you. You're doing such a great job of it all by yourselves!"

Finn's mouth fell open, "Fine then. You show us how it's done, then."

I smiled, "I might need a lady's assistance."

I looked around the room for Rachel but she was nowhere in sight. I frowned. Where could that girl be?

"Quinn?" I asked, "Would you mind?"

"She wouldn't want to sing with you!" Puck said, "Would you Quinn?"

"Actually, Puckerman, I would," Quinn snapped, walking to my side, "What song?"

I pondered this, "Cruisin' by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow?"

Quinn whispered something to the band members and then all of a sudden the music started to play.

_Baby let's cruise, away from here  
Don't be confused, the way is clear  
And if you want it you got it forever  
This is not a one night stand, baby, yeah so _

Quinn's voice was amazing. Not as amazing as mine or Rachel's but amazing all the same. She smiled at me as we sang.

_Let the music take your mind, ooh  
Just release and you will find  
You're gonna fly away  
Glad you're goin' my way  
I love it when we're cruisin' together  
The music is played for love,  
Cruisin' is made for love  
I love it when we're cruisin' together…_

And just as I was getting into the song, Rachel Berry stormed in.

"Hey everyone, I'm sure you're all wondering where I was and…"

That was when she realised she'd interrupted a song. A song between Quinn and myself. I'm not sure if I imagined it, but I thought I saw _jealousy _in her eyes…

"Jesse?" Rachel asked.

"He was showing us how to _really_ sing," Mercedes smiled, glancing at Quinn, "But I'm not sure if that's the only reason why he wanted to sing for us."

"Whatever," Rachel shook her head, "I just had a sing-off in the girl's bathroom with that exchange student, Sunshine Corazon."

"And?" Santana urged.

"She has an amazing voice..."

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone!**

**I don't know when I'll update next... But don't give up on me yet! :)**

**Song: Crusin' by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow... I'd never heard of this song until I wrote this chapter. :) I typed in '10 Most Popular Love Songs' into Google and this song came up. :)**

_Google is my friend._


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

**I've started to get some St. Fabray in there so that they'll be... I don't know, a sort-of couple when Sam comes. Hehehe!**

**Please R&R**

* * *

"Do you need any help?" I asked Quinn.

It was our Free Period and Quinn was designing her poster for Glee Club.

She smiled, "Just your opinion."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Should I use black?" she held up a black pencil, "Or pink?"

"Both."

She sighed, "You're no help."

"Hey!" I defended, "You asked for my opinion."

"I guess I shouldn't even bother. Rachel's already put up her own anyway."

I grabbed her black pencil and started scribbling a black border around her empty page, "That doesn't mean we shouldn't try. New Directions didn't give up even when you knew you couldn't beat Vocal Adrenaline," I teased.

She shook her head and pushed the hair out of her eyes, "Maybe, instead of designing my poster, I should start figuring out a routine for Cheerio try-outs. I need to be in top condition if Ms Sylvester's gonna let me back on the team again."

"Why do you even want to be on the team?" I asked, "Isn't Glee Club enough?"

"You've seen how they treat the Glee kids. We're outcasts. And I don't like that feeling. It may sound vain but I want to be the most popular girl in school again, with the quarterback of the football team by my side."

"So, you want Finn back?" I asked.

"Not Finn in particular," she admitted, "Just his status."

I shook my head, "We have more in common than I thought."

"Is that a good thing?"

I smiled, "No, Not at all."

She drew a few little love hearts on the page before scrunching it up and lobbing it in the bin, "I've got to practise my routine."

I stood up immediately, "Let me help you."

"Wow, Jesse St. James. You've offered to help me twice today. This must be some kind of record!"

I laughed, "Come on, I'm not really that mean."

Quinn picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, "Why don't you come to my place at 7:00? We can work on my routine then."

I nodded, "It's a date."

* * *

"So Sam, tell us about yourself," Finn said as he slouched in his chair.

I stood by the door and stared at the blond haired kid with the big mouth with curiosity. Finn had said he was a good singer, but I would be the judge of that.

"My name's Sam Evans. I like comic books, sports. I'm dyslexic so my grades aren't that good but I'm working on it…"

The whole time Sam was talking, Puck was staring at him wide-eyed, "Dude, your mouth is huge. How many tennis balls can you fit in there?"

"I-I don't know, I've never had any balls in my mouth," Sam said, clearly flustered, "Have you?"

Puck smiled and nodded.

"I like this kid," Finn said to Artie.

"I like his confidence," Artie replied, "But the Bieber-cut has gotta go."

"So, can you sing with that big mouth?"

"I've never really sung in front of anybody before…"

I sighed. He was unexperienced…

"Dude, let me tell ya. Chicks dig singers," Puck assured him.

"Give it a go," Finn encouraged, "We'll back you up, I promise. Right, Jesse?"

"Whatever."

"What song have you got in your back pocket?"

"Um, Billionaire?"

Sam started to strum his guitar and I readied myself for disaster… but it never came.

_I wanna be a billionaire, so frickin' bad._

He was great, but his big mouth was a bit distracting…

We all sang along, except Mike who did a little dance, instead. I started to wonder if Mike _could_ sing.

As the song came to an end a smile crept across mine and Finn's faces.

"Th-that was really cool!" Sam exclaimed.

"Nice," Finn said, "So you think you can come back and do that in front of everybody?"

"Sure," Sam shrugged.

As I left the room Finn did a drum solo.

* * *

"I never understood the point of these," I laughed, as I held two red and white pom-poms in my hands.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "I think you're the only person I've ever met who's held a pom-pom upside down."

She took the pom-poms out of my hands and held them properly, "You hold them like this!"

I sighed, "This is way more complicated than it should be. Aren't you just there to cheer on the football team? It shouldn't be that hard."

"You don't get it," Quinn said, "It's more than that. Cheerleading is an art-form. Just like singing. It needs to have structure, or it'll just crumble to pieces."

"Nice metaphor," I smiled, "But I don't think it's like performing. I could cheer-lead with my eyes closed."

Quinn raised her eyebrows, "Really?"

"Of course."

She threw the pom-poms to me, "Show me how it's done."

I stared at the pom-poms and shrugged, "How hard can it be?"

I walked to the centre of her room and began to whirl the pom-poms around my head.

"You need to do more than that. Jump up and down or something," she laughed, "And what happened to doing it with your eyes closed?"

I started jumping up and down whilst whirling the pom-poms around my head, "Jeesh! This is exhausting!"

"And you're not even doing it right! You're meant to _cheer_. That's why it's called _cheer_leading."

"Give me a Q! Give me a U! Give me an I! Give me an N! Give me another N! What does that spell? QUINN!" I cheered, with my eyes closed.

She applauded me as I sat down.

"See," I said, "Easy."

"Yeah," she laughed, "You showed me that you may be a great singer and dancer but as soon as I put these pom-poms in your hands your talent drops dramatically."

"Hey! I'd like to see you do better!"

Quinn smiled, "Fine."

She took the pom-poms out of my hands and turned on her CD player, which was playing some sort of drum-beat in the background.

"5, 6, 7, 8!" she cried before jumping in the air and doing a full-on star jump. She waved the pom-poms at the ground, and then waved them up to the sky.

After a lot of jumps and twirls, Quinn shouted, "Go team!" and then finished with a perfect split.

"And that's…" she puffed, "how it's done."

I walked up to her and gave her a hug, "You'll get into the team for sure."

"Thanks," she said, burying her head into my sweater, "I hope so…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I'm a bit behind. I'll work REALLY hard to try and get the rest of the chapters up ASAP. I promise.**

**I need a little help though. I've been watching the same part of the Britney/Brittany part over and over and I still can't figure out what Kurt says in his little speech. He says, "There is a burgeoning Facebook campaign that has swelled over five members" and then he says a sentence after that with a word I can't figure out in it. Can soemone please inbox me telling me what he says?**

* * *

My sort-of date with Quinn had gone pretty well and I had a huge grin on my face as I walked down the halls. It didn't take long for my grin to fade.

There were heaps of people crowding around the lockers and I guessed that there was some sort of fight going on. I just didn't expect to recognise the voices.

"You told Coach Sylvester about my summer surgery!" Santana screamed, angrily.

Quinn scoffed, "You have a surgery when you have your appendix out. You got a _boob_-job!"

I pushed my way through the crowd until I had a good view of the fight.

"Yep, sure did!" Santana snapped, as her hand snuck out and impacted Quinn's face.

"You can't hit me!"

"Sure I can, unless you got yourself knocked up again, slut!"

I was about to run in and break it up as soon as Quinn and Santana began to wrestle each other to the floor but Mr Schue beat me to it.

"Stop the violence," Brittany said, half-heartedly.

Mr Schue struggled to keep the girls off each other, "Let's stop this and be a family!"

"Oh please, she has a family. She's a motherrrr!" Santana retorted.

"Walk away!" Quinn shouted when Santana turned her back, she continued to struggle against Mr Schue, "And tighten up your pony before you get to class!"

Mr Schue let go of Quinn and walked away once the crowd had dispersed. Immediately I ran to her and put my arm around her shoulders, "What was that all about?"

Quinn wiped the tears away from her eyes and sniffed, "I'm head cheerleader again. Santana's just jealous."

"There's more to it," I said, "Did you tell Coach Sue about her boob job to become head cheerleader?"

Quinn sighed, "Maybe."

"I thought Santana was your friend! Why did you do that to her?"

Quinn glared at me, "You're one to talk!"

I frowned, "I said I was sorry. I thought you forgave me for leaving you guys!"

"I'm sorry Jesse," she sighed, angrily ripping out her ponytail and running her fingers through it, "I don't feel so good. Could you take me to the school nurse?"

I nodded, "Of course. I won't question you anymore."

"Thanks Jesse. I shouldn't have used Santana to get back to the top; I just wanted it so bad!"

I wiped the tears away from her cheeks, "I understand."

"Yeah," she smiled, "You do."

"I'll see you later then," I smiled once we'd made it to sick room.

"See ya Jesse."

As soon as Quinn had gone inside I heard someone crying in the girl's bathroom.

"Hello?" I called, "Are you okay?"

Sunshine Corazon walked out the door with bloodshot eyes and tear stains on her cheeks.

"Sunshine?" I asked, pulling her aside, "What's wrong?"

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "R-Rachel Berry sent me to a c-crack house."

I stared at her. Surely I hadn't heard correctly, "You're kidding... A crack house?"

It didn't look like she was kidding. Sunshine nodded and took a deep breath, "W-what was it like at Carmel?"

I narrowed my eyes, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm thinking of transferring. I don't want Rachel to do anything like this again."

"She's not usually like that," I assured Sunshine, "Being in Vocal Adrenaline… It wasn't as fun as being involved in New Directions. You should stay here. Just don't take directions from Rachel next time, okay?"

She gave me a small smile, "Okay."

* * *

_Listen. To the song here in my heart…_

Sunshine listened to me and showed up in the auditorium for auditions. I know Rachel will kill me if she ever heard me say this, but Sunshine was incredible. And deep-down, I know Rachel knows that too. That probably explains the whole _crack house_ thing.

When Sunshine's song came to a close the room erupted in applause and Mr Schue officially welcomed Sunshine to Glee club. Even Rachel bitterly congratulated her before taking Finn's arm and dragging him out of the auditorium.

"It's about time we had another Rachel in this Glee club… A nicer one, I mean," Quinn whispered to me.

I nodded, "You're not too bad yourself Miss Fabray."

"Oh please," she shook her head, "I've only had 3, maybe 4 solos. How many has Rachel had?"

"I don't think any of us have bothered to count," I laughed.

"I rest my case."

We sat in silence for a little while as members of the Glee club slowly made their way back to the halls.

"Maybe we should go…"

"No," Quinn interrupted, taking my hand, "Can we stay here for a little while?"

I felt a shiver run up my spine as I squeezed her hand, "Sure. What would you like to talk about?"

"Do you still like Rachel?"

"Yeah..." I said, casually, "Why?"

"Let me rephrase that," Quinn said, "Do you still _love_ Rachel?"

Her question really made me think. I guess I sort-of loved Rachel. I mean, we had loads in common and we were both extremely talented. But she was with Finn and she looked as if she was happy. I didn't think I could take that away from her.

"No," I finally answered. It wasn't exactly a lie, "Not anymore."

Quinn bit her lip slightly and looked into my eyes, "Well, is there anyone here that you _are_ into?"

I thought about that question as well. I wasn't entirely sure if I should answer it. Did Quinn know I liked her? Was that why she was asking me? Did she want me to admit it so that she could laugh at me? All those questions began to hurt my head.

"No," I lied, "Absolutely no one."

"Oh…"

I wasn't sure if I had imagined it but I swear I saw hurt in her eyes.

"What about you?" I asked, eager to hear her answer.

"No one in particular. I suppose that Sam kid is pretty cute."

"Cute?" I heard Santana ask from the row down from us. She must've gotten over the fight between her and Quinn, "_Finn_ is cute. _Jesse_ is cute. But Sam? He's _hot_."

"How much of our conversation did you hear?" I demanded, shifting awkwardly in my seat. I hadn't realised she'd been down there the whole time.

"Just the part about Sam. Why? Were you talking about how much you love each other?" Santana sneered.

Quinn blushed, "We're just friends…"

Santana raised her eyebrows, "If you say so."

And without another word she left the auditorium. At last we had the place to ourselves.

"Ignore her," I smiled at Quinn, "Maybe you and Sam have a chance."

"Hold on a second, I said he was cute, _not_ that I wanted to go out with him," she noted my facial expression, "Why? Are you jealous?"

"Of course not!" I said, innocently, "Maybe we should get going. We don't want you to be late for class."

Quinn shrugged, "Suit yourself. I'll see you tomorrow Jesse."

* * *

"I need to ask you something," Quinn said, cautiously, "And I need you to tell me the truth."

Glee club was on in five minutes and I was on my way there when Quinn had pulled me aside.

"Shoot," I said.

"Did you talk to Sunshine Corazon about Vocal Adrenaline?"

I nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Quinn frowned, "I'm such an idiot. I thought you were different. I thought you'd changed!"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"When Santana told me that you'd convinced Sunshine to move to Vocal Adrenaline I told her that you'd never do something like that! Obviously I was wrong."

"Hold on," I begged, "Sunshine moved to Vocal Adrenaline?"

"Wait. So you _didn't_ tell her to move to Carmel?" she asked, suddenly as confused as I was.

I shook my head, "No! In fact I said the opposite!"

Quinn stared at her toes, "Well, you might want to brace yourself before going to Glee club today…"

"Oh, I get it. They all think I'm spying on you for Vocal Adrenaline. I've graduated for crying out loud! I'm not a part of Vocal Adrenaline anymore!"

"Well, you can't blame them," Quinn said, "It's not like you've never done something like that before.'

I sighed, "I know."

"Well," Quinn said, awkwardly, "We're running late now…"

She held her hand out to me and I slid my hand into hers, "Thanks. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

And with that we walked into the choir room hand-in-hand, prepared for the ambush that was awaiting us.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


End file.
